Forgot to tell you this

I won gift certificates from WSPD last month. I win stuff all the time: symphony tickets, restaurant certificates, cd's, etc. I've probably won at least $500 in stuff in the past year. When we go to the symphony it's because I've won tickets!

Anyways, we had to go downtown this past week to pick up the certificate, which I am pysched about because it's for the Erie Street Chowder House and it's 50 bucks!! WooHoo!!

There isn't much left downtown. Libbey Glass and the Chowder House are the only things keeping Erie street Market alive. Oh, and Carty Finkbeiner, Toledo's megalomaniac, Napoleon complexed mayor. That's his baby.

But it's really not alive at all, mostly empty buildings. There is the Mud Hens . They are awesome! And of course, the Spaghetti Warehouse. I think that's about it. And my salon, Ahava. Carty has pretty much killed the city! Anyways, this decline in Toledo benefited me the other day on my trip to pick of Gift certificates.

COSI, which was located in the failed Portside Shopping Center on the muddy Maumee River, has followed in it's predecessors footsteps and closed it doors. As we drove by, the doors were open and there was a big sign that said "Big Sale." Well, the garage saler that I am, I made the soonest available U-turn and Rob and I hit that sale. Here's some of the spoils of our stop: an umbrella for our picnic table, cool bookshelves for my kids, a crazy toy that we hung on the wall, a brand new in the box Sound system for Rob (it's sells on amazon for 200+ and that's a refurbished one), some baskets, some kites, toys for the kids and the game Trionimos. We really got a lot of cool stuff. The radio was the most expensive thing, 80 bucks but Rob will get that back at our garage sale from his old radio pieces.

The bookcases when I found them there were connected back to back with the toy on the end of them - I got it for 20 dollars. That's the biggest deal we got! It probably cost about $500 originally! The kids love it!